Beckham (2023) s01e01 Episode Script
The Kick
1
All right.
Here it comes. I see it dripping.
What's the name
of your honey again?
There's a bit of an argument
in the house at the moment.
I think it should be "Golden Bees."
Victoria likes "DB Sticky Stuff."
That could get you
in trouble with HR.
- Oh God. Really?
- Oh my God.
Come on, man.
What other hobbies
do you have like this?
Lego.
Isn't that amazing?
Taste it.
- It's really good.
- Good, right?
Yeah. "DB Sticky Stuff."
"DB Sticky"
See, it's growing on you, right?
- It actually is.
- It's growing on you.
Fuck, it's very sticky, though.
Welcome to the start
of the new season in England.
It was a beautiful day in London.
First game of the season.
Number ten, David Beckham.
In the glare of the sunshine,
in the glare of great publicity,
we're about to get underway.
Jordi Cruyff tried
to chip the goalkeeper.
Cruyff.
And I remember
looking over at the manager.
Because if ever you tried anything
like that and it didn't come off,
the manager would be
on his feet and he'd be killing you.
So
We won the ball just inside our half.
And I looked up, and I thought, "Why not?"
We were behind the goal that day.
It just went deathly quiet.
Like, as the ball
left his foot, the ground
You wouldn't have known
you was in a football stadium.
And I remember
seeing it go right out left,
and then, all of a sudden,
it started coming back in.
And I was thinking,
"This has got a chance."
And Beckham saw Sullivan off his line!
Oh! That is absolutely phenomenal!
From the halfway line!
What an astonishing goal!
Everybody in the ground
just lost in admiration.
And 21-year-old David Beckham
scores what may go down
as one of the great goals of our time,
and it'll be talked about
for a long, long time.
I walked off the pitch,
the manager said,
"David, you get on the bus
and you don't say a word. No interviews."
Can I ask you a couple questions?
First, David Beckham's goal.
Fantastic. Out of this world.
Best goal I've ever seen.
It's unprecedented. In his own half.
Nobody's ever done it before.
Good evening.
There was a goal from the halfway line
scored by Manchester United's
David Beckham.
We didn't have access
to Internet and stuff like this,
so you hear about it through the radio.
And it was like,
"Right, Match of the Day tonight."
"We'll watch that."
You'd heard about him before,
and you'd seen him play games,
but that's the first moment
where I went, "Okay."
"There's a difference with this guy."
And everybody kept saying, "Oh,
what a goal!" "Was it? I didn't see it."
"What?" "Didn't see it."
Some bloody bloke stood up in front of me.
But that was the start of it really,
because nobody had done it before.
Pele had tried it.
Pele.
He saw the goalkeeper off the line!
David! Here, David! Over here!
Did you know that his life
was going to change after that goal?
Oh yeah. It had to. It had to.
They never left him alone after that.
Has he changed at all?
No, he's not changed at all.
He's still a nice lad.
He makes me laugh.
- Do you mind, please?
- Do you pinch yourself?
- Think, "I can't believe it's happening"?
- Yeah.
I just drift away and, you know,
and think how it first happened.
Oh, it's brilliant.
- Morning.
- What's up?
Did you kill these deer?
No, not me.
Nothing to do with me, actually.
My granddad was meticulous.
Everything that was written about me,
every picture that was in the papers.
Oh my God. Some of these pictures
I haven't seen for years.
There's Dad. Did my dad behave himself?
- He certainly had a lot to say.
- Yeah.
I was a gas engineer.
I used to work seven days a week.
I used to have a red Toyota van.
I would have no other color.
My dad was absolutely obsessed
with Manchester United.
Every Christmas,
I would get a Manchester United kit.
His obsession was bigger than mine.
I was a hairdresser,
and then had the children,
so I worked at home to make money.
We didn't have much then.
My mum would have four or five old ladies
sat under the big hairdryers,
and then I would be making
cups of teas and pieces of toast,
and giving them cakes
and things like that.
I never really did well at school.
I wasn't intelligent, believe it or not.
Surprise, surprise.
I never had many friends.
I kept myself to myself.
From the moment I got in from school
to the moment I slept,
I spent my time out in the garden.
He'd never do anything else.
If it was bad weather or something,
he'd be drawing,
and it would all be
something to do with football.
This one is playing
for the county.
Look. Already you had
I know, that style.
I could hit a ball in a certain way,
different to anyone else.
To 30 yards away, on a sixpence.
I used to say to him, "Every time
you hit the crossbar, I'll give you 50p."
And it used to cost me a fortune.
That's all he ever wanted.
He never went out with friends,
never went out at night.
- Partying? Girls?
- He didn't want to know.
I saw my mum and dad
working hard every day,
till 11 o'clock at night,
12 o'clock at night.
I knew the only way
to be a professional footballer
was to work hard.
Did he tell you
I was there the first time
Manchester United found him?
And this man was stood
by the side of me, and he said,
"I'm a Man United scout." I said, "Oh."
The phone rings, and it rung at a time
where we all look at each other like,
"Who's calling this time of night?"
My mum picked it up,
and she, she literally went,
"It's Sir Alex Ferguson.
This is Alex Ferguson."
Okay, camera's rolling.
Here he comes.
Ready? And Hold on.
That's not him. Oh, it is him, moving.
At first, I thought it was a wind-up.
I was I couldn't sleep that night.
So, thank you so much.
We ordered you a coffee.
- So I get two cameras?
- Two cameras, yeah.
- I was hoping for three.
- Aye, yeah.
And I think you could go.
Okay. When did David Beckham
first come to your attention?
It was not long after I came to the club.
1986 has been United's
worst start to the season since the war.
The club are fourth from bottom.
The club say they will now
be approaching Alex Ferguson.
Is that your first autograph for United?
We haven't won the league for 20 years.
It's a great challenge
for Manchester United players.
The one thing about Sir Alex,
you had to have
What we call in England, you have
to have a big pair of to play.
Um
- You can say "balls."
- Yeah. You need a pair of balls.
As Manchester United
face a crucial afternoon
in their quest for the Premier League.
Manchester United hadn't won the league
for 25 years. It was ridiculous.
The manager saving every vital second.
So that was the Holy Grail.
Out to Pallister.
Bruce! Yes!
Unbelievable!
Brian Kidd and Alex Ferguson
are celebrating the championship!
The thing
that hit you straight away
was the ferocious appetite
he had to succeed.
That's the moment
Old Trafford has been waiting for
since 1967.
I won't be taking my foot off the pedal.
It's not my nature.
As long as they're hungry.
Because without hunger, you can't achieve.
What I wanted was a structure
of young people getting a chance.
That was my mantra, to get young players,
develop a football club, not a team.
There's me and the boss.
That's one of the first times I met him.
There's a picture of you there,
signing with Alex Ferguson.
- Mm.
- What was it like signing?
Just brilliant.
Signing the paper and that
I just couldn't believe it was happening.
He came to us as a small,
skinny little boy, you know?
But when you see potential,
it sticks out at you.
It's your job then to bring that
to fruition, to make them a man.
Okay, son?
Alex Ferguson was someone that I looked
up to as, as a father figure.
One of the most important people
in my life
from the age of 12, 13,
when I first met him.
Camera's rolling.
- This was your first ever
- Mm.
Young David Beckham coming on.
Yeah, my first ever game.
A young midfield player.
As Kanchelskis goes off.
Look how young, dude.
I know. 17.
We know that they're gonna run long.
They're gonna run forever.
Cantona charging.
Bülent's getting himself into trouble.
Beckham.
It's a goal!
Two-nil!
The young boys
are doing Alex Ferguson proud.
My first goal was great, but I was
more excited about celebrating with Eric.
Joy on the youngster's face there.
That's one of his favorite memories.
- Yeah?
- Mm-hm.
What was that moment like,
when the ball hit the net?
It was a dream. It was just a dream.
And I'd never had
a feeling like it in my life. Never.
Let's move around.
Steve, can you get the boots?
These here. See that? "Becks."
A really noisy atmosphere at Old Trafford.
Wow.
We talk about anticipation.
To anticipate. Anticipation.
That's why sometimes
people speak about intelligence,
that footballers are not intelligent.
But you need to have
this kind of intelligence.
We play wonderful football.
David Beckham. That's not a bad ball in!
Wonderful.
Eric Cantona.
Two, might be three.
This is Beckham!
That season, when you see David play,
everybody said that he has a gift.
It's gonna be Beckham.
Oh! It's another classic
from young David Beckham.
He's like an artist
in front of his canvas.
He can put the ball anywhere.
drop to Beckham!
Well, every goal he scores
is an absolute beauty.
How about that?
Seriously, that feeling,
if you could bottle that feeling
and sell it, you'd be a billionaire.
There were times that season
we'd think, "Wow. Becks,
the way he's hitting this ball,
I've never seen anything like it."
There isn't a guy
who can do it the way he does it.
This was your entrance every day?
Yeah. Into the Theatre,
as it's known. The Theatre of Dreams.
Flash lad, gel in his hair.
Looking real prim, proper. Pretty
We called him "pretty boy,"
'cause he was. He was pretty.
What a finish.
It was very much the music stars
in Manchester who were the stars.
We were, you know, cock of the walk.
We were kings of the roost.
The Manchester music scene,
in that time, with The Haçienda,
it was all about musicians.
The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Oasis.
When Beckham's star rose,
it turned around completely.
And you'd watch the footballers
become the rock stars.
I loved Manchester.
You know, there was so much happening.
You know, Haçienda, which
I never went to Haçienda, but
Well, I actually might have gone
a couple of times, but, uh
Did you ever go to The Haçienda?
No.
I don't like nightclubs um, really.
Not for me. Never have been.
The music, the noise I think a night out,
for me, is about a social experience
where, the people you're with, you talk,
you have a good night, you have a drink.
The idea of nightclubs,
where you've got music in your ear,
this banging noise,
that isn't for me, that.
- Is that a scarf?
- Not a scarf. It's a hoodie.
- Is it?
- Give me a break.
Gary Neville.
Beckham.
We were absolutely destroying teams
down that right-hand side.
He was with his crossing.
And I was supporting him
in a way which, to be fair, was
I'd say I was a side dish, really.
It's another
for the collection for David Beckham.
Not the beef.
I was the mustard on the side.
- Gary was Mr. Sensible.
- Did he talk a lot then?
Oh, Gaz? Gaz always talked.
He could always talk,
and we very rarely listened to him.
But there was just
that special connection between us.
Do you think he's a good player?
Yeah. I think he's gonna be
the best midfielder in England.
I'm sure of that.
He's unique in that he can do things
that other footballers can't do.
- Gary Neville.
- I was subservient
Beckham.
because I need David
to go and do something magical.
Glorious ball.
He was practicing free kicks.
I was practicing throw-ins.
Beckham.
It's a difficult ball,
but how about that for execution?
We were like that on the pitch.
It was telepathic.
Off the pitch as well,
I knew where he was in his mind.
It wasn't enough for him.
He wanted to be
more than a football player.
That season
In a short while,
I'll be issuing a statement.
that was the start, for me,
of working with the brands.
We've invested significant resources
in developing a modern range of products
which is specially formulated for men.
That was the first time
I stepped outside of football.
David! Over here!
Not many footballers
were doing that, at that point.
Sit up straight.
But you got paid.
Yeah, I got paid.
Yeah.
I'm trying to get wide
on it. Hang on.
It's blooming nice, yeah. Yeah, it's
This is the first time
that I've ever been in a Porsche.
- You spent your money.
- I spent my money.
- You liked your stuff.
- I like nice stuff.
Oh, what's he like! Yeah.
As soon as we got money, it was like,
"I want to buy a nice watch."
I love shopping,
I love cars, I love watches.
- Your watch. What is it?
- This is a Rolex.
- This is interesting.
- Yeah, that's Gucci.
You have to look good
for the paparazzi, haven't you?
David! Over here!
I'd signed a contract with Adidas
for £50,000.
And I went and bought an M3 for £50,000.
What is the obsession
with the cars, man?
Bentleys, Porsche, yeah.
He was the first to kind of
Upped everyone's game
in the car park, I'll give him that.
David used to get his salary on a Friday
and spend it on a Saturday, all,
spend the next five days
waiting for his next salary
to get the jeans to match.
That was him.
Have money, spend it.
Me and Gary were like, "Let's save it
for a rainy day. Have a pension."
We put money in a pension
and David's like, "What are you doing?"
He was like, "I bought a fancy pen,"
and we're like, "Who the fuck buys a pen?"
You know what I mean?
Who buys an expensive pen?
Shirts and clothes, I get all that,
and cars. But who buys a pen?
How many letters do you get?
I don't know. I pick up a big
Royal Mail sack sometimes once a week.
So, do you remember
when David got his first fan mail?
Uh, I can't honestly remem
He, uh It just got built up and built up,
all these young ladies
writing to him, you know?
What did they send?
Do people send you knickers
through the post, all that kind of thing?
Yeah.
Mm. It's not nice, is it,
sending underwear to a boy?
I'd put them to one side and
didn't reply.
- Did it get to his head?
- No.
When you start young,
a lot of people
want to invite you to this party,
and you become
the most beautiful guy for a lot of girls.
You've got people around you ready to
give you advice, to spend money on that.
And then you have to you know,
stay calm, keep the feet on the ground,
and know that this is a circus.
"And I don't need this kind of circus."
"I need to concentrate on football."
Can you believe it's happening
to you? Are your feet still on the ground?
Oh, yeah, definitely.
Actually, it was nice, one of my friends
turned round to me the other day and said,
"You've got all this,
but it's not changed you."
It definitely didn't change me.
Well, he changed,
there's no doubt about that.
And I think
that media attention he was getting,
and becoming a celebrity,
it was different from what I wanted.
Getting David to keep his feet
on the ground became more difficult.
Okay, David.
Straight down the center. Big smile.
He was a good-looking boy
and he was always well-cut,
so it was a great attraction
for the media.
Does pop image
for young footballers concern you?
Well, I mean, I think
Yeah, I think it probably does.
I think that's a phase at the moment,
that he's getting a lot of profile.
Over this way.
And you hope that dies out quickly.
Just from the head upwards.
Keep your shoulders that way.
He's taken an agent on now, so
I don't know how they handle that part.
But he knows where I am,
and that's important.
I know my team,
and hopefully, we can do the business.
All right. Bye-bye.
He wanted me to go
with a certain agent that he knew,
and I wanted to go to another agent.
And he went
He went absolutely mental at me.
Like, mental.
To the point where
he wanted nothing to do with me.
He wouldn't even talk to me.
I didn't want anything
to come in the way of the football.
But I knew my career
was going to end at some point,
and I wanted
to have a career after football.
And that ate away at the manager.
He just wanted me to be
the best footballer that I could be
and be, you know, married
to a local girl that wasn't a superstar.
We were watching TV.
It came on.
And I turned round to Gary, I went,
"See that one there?
I'm gonna marry that one."
And we're laughing and joking.
I'm like, "No, I'm gonna marry that one."
"The Posh one.
The one in the black dress."
I suppose that most blokes
have done that in their life.
Looked at a television, said,
"I like her." You don't end up with them.
We went to a game, and we were
invited onto the pitch at halftime.
Thank you very much.
But all of my family
are Liverpool supporters.
David, playing for Manchester United,
I just knew that
he was one of those players
for that team
I didn't really like very much.
In the changing room, before
the game, one of the players came in
and they said, "Two Spice Girls are here,"
and I was like, "What ones?"
And they was like,
"The Sporty one and the Posh one,"
and I was like, "Great."
Victoria, can you announce this one?
Okay. This is three-zero-six-nine.
Three thousand and 69.
If that's your ticket
So, I then played the game.
Neville.
It's a useful cross.
Beckham! Absolute beauty!
He could not have struck it better.
Gary Neville can take plenty of credit.
I am not into football at all.
I wasn't into football then,
I am not into football now.
Olive, want to come and be in it?
It will make me look like a nice person.
I'll pat you every now and then
You'll need more than one dog.
I should bring the other two in as well.
But I'd seen pictures of him in magazines,
and he's obviously
a really good-looking boy.
Was a boy. How old was he? Boy? Young man?
The fact I went to the games
really was just to kind of
Some would say "stalk" him.
I would say "see" him.
When I saw him in the footballers' lounge,
other footballers were at the bar,
but he was standing,
talking to his parents.
And I'm very close to my family,
and I loved that side to him.
That first time that I speak to her,
I just fancied her.
I just fancied him,
and it was as simple as that.
Yeah, I mean, I think, also, we both
come from families that work really hard.
Both of our parents work really hard.
We're very working, working class.
Be honest.
- I I am being honest.
- Be honest.
I am being honest.
What car did your dad
drive you to school in?
- So, my dad did
- No. One answer.
- My dad
- What car was it?
It's not a simple answer.
What car did you get your dad
to drive you to school in?
- It depends.
- No. No, no, no, no.
Okay. In the '80s,
my dad had a Rolls-Royce.
Thank you.
I must have flown to the game,
because I wrote my number
on the airplane ticket.
And I remember saying,
"You better call me."
There was something there
that just straight away
I was just, like, "Okay, this is it."
"And it's gonna move fast."
But I wasn't one of these girls
that would be interested in footballers
because they're famous.
I don't mean this in an arrogant way,
but I had that myself.
Hi.
The list of boy bands
around these days is endless.
Hello.
Spice Girls are set to give the lads
a run for their money.
And we were on a mission
to prove that girls are better than boys.
Go on, say "Girl Power."
Come on, you can do that.
Say "Girl Power." Just do one.
And I suppose what we created
was a bit of a monster in the five of us.
We would jump on the tables.
Well, I didn't jump on the tables.
I was always a bit more sensible.
We just present ourselves as we are.
I never found it as easy
as the other girls to be that outgoing.
I was always quite shy.
I was never the popular kid
at school, you know?
I was actually bullied, um, quite a lot.
And I probably would still be that way
if I hadn't have met the girls.
She is the foxy lady of the group.
- I'm not.
- She's a foxy lady.
And what the Spice Girls did
is they brought me out of me.
There's only one.
I'm Scary, really.
And that just kind of became our thing,
that we celebrated our individuality.
We called ourselves Spice Girls because
If you look at us,
we dress quite differently, don't we?
And we're all really different.
We're like all different-flavor spices.
We're just being ourselves.
We don't need a uniform to be in a gang.
If a man wants
to wear a dress, that's fine.
Just be who you want to be.
Doesn't matter who you are, what you are.
You put a lot of emphasis
on protecting young players
from the outside world.
David Beckham struck
the only goal of the match.
But what do you do with David?
Well uh, D David is
The The availability of the protection's
always there for him.
He knows where I am.
Sir Alex would buy players
not just because they were talented,
he had a look at their background.
"Have you got a girlfriend?"
"Yes, gaffer."
"How long you been with her?"
"Two years, gaffer." "Are you engaged?"
"Getting married in 1990, gaffer."
He liked the fact that
you were going home to someone,
because he wanted you to be stable.
Not having parties every night.
Sir Alex Ferguson
had socialist principles.
"You might be an individual,
but in here, we're all equal."
"You're putting the team first."
What Sir Alex built
was a team of Mini-Mes.
The boss would not let us wear anything
other than a black boot.
And I remember
bringing a pair of white Adidas into
And he was like, "Absolutely not."
We all knew the rules.
It's his way. You had to conform.
Go against him, you were finished.
My manager kept saying,
"Try and keep it under wraps."
"Don't get photographed together."
So we would
We would meet in car parks,
and that's not as seedy as it sounds.
The first kiss that I ever had with
Victoria was in the BMW, in a car park.
Classy.
The truth is, he was on the phone
to Victoria every second,
and he would stay on the phone
until one o'clock in the morning.
He was in the bathroom
with the light on all night,
speaking to her.
I'm like, "What the fuck
are you speaking to her about?"
What would you say?
We just I don't know. I think
Have you never done that,
though, early on in a relationship?
No.
"Come on, mate. Seriously?
We play Liverpool on Sunday."
Good morning from Anfield
for the most important league game
of the Premier League season,
the two juggernauts of English football.
For United, the win
would put them well on their way
to their fourth title in five seasons.
Victoria would be away
and we'd be staying at his house.
And three o'clock in the morning,
the phone would ring.
He had a game, so I'd answer the phone
and say, "He's in bed, asleep."
And they'd want to talk.
But me, being a protective mum,
would have thought,
"You shouldn't ring
this time in the morning."
But how can you tell? They're adults.
Morning kickoff.
Some criticism of that,
that such an important game
has to have an 11:15 kickoff.
It's meant, of course, that the players
have had to get up at the crack of dawn.
And just looking at the players' faces,
you can see the nerves
and tension of the occasion.
We were worried that
he'd lose all what he'd worked for.
'Cause football come first
and, all of a sudden, it wasn't.
This is Gary Neville.
He's played so solidly again this season.
I knew the lengths he was going
to see Victoria, it was a lot.
It was like an addict.
It was like he had to He would drive
four hours to spend 20 minutes with her.
Kvarme gets it away.
Not very far. Here's Beckham!
Liverpool were grateful
that he wasn't so deadly on that occasion.
He couldn't kid us.
I'd say, "Where were you
last night, mate?"
"Oh, I just went for a drive."
What do you mean, "Went for a drive"?
Beckham again. And this time
the ball is
You knew David was
pissing the manager off.
I think he was probably
going down to London at times
when he possibly shouldn't have been.
And the manager wouldn't have that.
Long ball in. And Barnes has scored!
If you lose discipline,
you don't play at 100%.
You play at 80% or 90%,
and then you go down very quickly.
You know? Very fast.
In a few months
you've disappeared completely.
And then you wake up in the morning
and you say, "Oh, shit."
Exactly what the Liverpool fans ordered.
I didn't care when I saw her,
how much I saw her.
If it was me driving down to London
to see her for seven minutes, I did it.
And he won't be very happy
with the way
this story is unfolding so far.
But
This is Gary Neville.
I don't know how he did it.
Cantona. Beckham. Nicely done.
Cantona again.
Lovely move by Manchester United.
That was on the far post
David had the ability
to have madness in his life, potentially
Swung in again
by Beckham. And a tremendous save!
and literally an hour before kickoff,
he'd switch into football mode.
Beckham.
Here comes the Manchester United corner.
And a goal!
And how priceless
will that goal be in the title race?
He'd be on it, and he'd perform.
I don't know how he did it.
Here's Beckham again.
Pallister again on the near post!
And he's done it again!
And Liverpool's defending
from corners is an absolute nightmare.
I don't know how he did it.
I couldn't do it.
Honestly, it would break me.
And Manchester United get the three points
in the biggest league game of the season.
This was the first time we were
really seeing Victoria and David Beckham
together as a couple.
It's unbelievable.
It's manna from heaven for newspapers.
There's so many angles.
It hits pop culture, sport.
And I always remember, in Manchester,
there were the two brothers
that followed him around.
They were fucking everywhere.
He sees you.
VDB. Victoria and David Beckham.
For about three months,
we kept it quiet.
You guys
followed them everywhere.
And then I bought her
a Cartier watch, and she wore it.
And then, all of a sudden,
people were piecing it all together.
So You know, "Posh and Becks."
Over here, David!
Were you aware of the Spice Girls?
I certainly was.
I put them on the cover.
I only put them on the cover 'cause
my daughter was so obsessed with them
that I felt that the world must be.
- Were you a football fan as well?
- Absolutely not.
But when you have two equally
charismatic people, it doubles the volume.
It puts the heat factor way up.
It became fashion-led.
We had to learn fashion brands.
Learn which handbag Victoria was carrying,
which trainers David was wearing,
which glasses he wore,
which car he was driving.
We had to learn.
- It didn't rub off.
- No, it didn't rub off, no.
David didn't have a lot of friends
at school. Neither did I.
And you go from being that kid at school,
who's desperate just for a friend,
to, all of a sudden,
being chased down the street.
You know, it was a novelty.
And here goes David Beckham.
Game, set and match for Manchester United.
Victoria Adams joins in the glee.
I can't put
into words how big they were.
They were the new Charles
and Diana, in some ways.
I don't know whether
I feel comfortable saying that.
But they were like royalty.
This is the day
of Princess Diana's death.
I was not comfortable
with the photographers
being as aggressive as they were.
But I loved being in her world.
It was exciting.
Do you get a kick
when people go, "There's David"
You do get a kick. Don't you?
Yeah, of course. You know, you
You walk down the streets,
and then this kid's like, "Ah"
A little kid, and you're like
Yeah, it's nice. It is really nice.
The 1997
Young Player of the Year,
and thoroughly deserved, David Beckham.
You're attracting attention not only
from the back pages of newspapers,
but the front pages and the middle pages.
I very rarely get nervous.
But I remember getting the phone call
from the England manager.
David, is it extra special
to play for England?
Uh, yeah, I think so.
It'll be a great experience.
I loved United,
but the number-one thing that I'd always
wanted to do, above anything else,
was play for England.
That was a dream.
Can you see him now?
To get picked to play
for your country, how important is that?
Know when someone's telling you something
and you're trying to be calm?
"Yeah, gaffer, that's unbelievable."
But your stomach's going 100 mile an hour.
You just can't wait to get into your room
and ring your wife and tell everybody.
Playing at the national team's stadium,
playing at Wembley
is a very emotional moment for me
because my dad always used to take me
to Wembley to watch England play.
That was really
what my childhood was all about.
To see my son come out
for the first time at Wembley,
I must admit, I had a little tear.
To get a phone call
from the England manager
would have always been great.
But to get it from Glenn Hoddle?
That was a special moment.
As a young kid, I loved Hoddle.
He was kind of flash,
he was good-looking, he had the hair.
You know, he always wore
his shorts really short.
He had good legs, actually.
But he could play a ball
no one else could play.
Everything that he did,
I wanted to be.
I remember Glenn Hoddle
was opening a shop.
And we stood for two, three hours
in his little England kit
with "Hoddle" on the back,
and he never turned up.
Glenn Hoddle never turned up.
David was distraught.
The fact that I've brought him in on
my first squad and given him his debut,
um, and he's stayed in the team,
I think says it all.
But obviously, he still needs
to find his feet at international level.
And he was building the team around Becks.
But I think Glenn Hoddle had demands
on Becks because he knew how good he was,
and I think he saw
a bit of himself in David.
Rome has seen its
fair share of gladiatorial confrontation
down the years.
Will it ever have witnessed
anything like this, though?
England's biggest game of football
for some four years,
for a place in the World Cup Finals.
To say I was nervous
is an understatement.
Well, all football
fanatics know the scenario tonight,
but forgive me for just spelling it out.
Italy have to win,
a draw enough for England.
On this extraordinary night.
A sellout crowd of 75,000
- He loved playing for his country.
- Beckham.
He was so patriotic.
A problem for Ince,
who seems to maybe have a facial cut.
I'd never played in the World Cup.
It's a player's dream to play
in the World Cup. The pressure of it
Beckham. This is great play.
Sheringham. David Beckham!
That could have been,
and maybe should have been, all over.
And we're into time
added on. David Beckham's corner.
And here comes Chiesa
and Italy, with Del Piero.
Oh!
England have qualified
for the 1998 World Cup Finals.
And it's the dance of joy
for the man who masterminded it all.
Glenn Hoddle got us
to the World Cup
They achieved the target.
which, for David,
is another dream.
And raise your glasses back home.
Another dream come true.
But
I was on tour.
Not knowing when I was going to see him,
that was the difficult thing.
But he used to do anything
to just try and spend time with me.
He would sometimes charter a tiny,
tiny plane, like a two-seater plane.
He would come over literally
just for a few hours, and then go back.
This way. Around this way.
Soccer and Spice
Victoria,
can you describe the ring for us?
posing for pictures
after announcing their engagement.
Everything about Victoria, I loved.
I didn't know she was
the strong woman that she was.
And I liked that.
I don't know whether it was
because I wanted her to look after me.
You must've felt safe with her?
Yeah. I did.
They might have found love,
but finding the time to be together
could be the problem.
While Beckham has his sights
on the World Cup,
the Spice Girls
are about to start their world tour.
She's a strong, strong woman.
Can be a pain in the ass, though.
She was a pain this morning.
The England squad arrived today,
setting foot on French soil
in beige suits.
They were "dull and lacking in style."
The suits, that is, say fashion editors.
We had some shit suits, man.
Some really bad suits.
You could have three of me in one suit,
it was that big and baggy.
But Becks still looked good.
I used to say,
"Who's helping him with this shit?"
"Are they fitting his kit differently?"
"Is he going to a tailor
to get his kit fitted?"
"Because the way it looks on him ain't
the way it's looking on me right now."
The World Cup
is the spectacle of all spectacles.
I mean, there is just no comparison.
The viewing figures
for England at the World Cup
exceed anything in this country.
It's estimated
up to a million extra TVs
will be sold to watch the first kickoff.
What else is attracting
25 million people watching it?
I mean The royal wedding?
Asda will be stacking up
an extra 300,000 gallons
of beer and lager.
Relate, the relationship-counseling
organization,
says if your love life
is already on shaky ground,
France '98 could put the final boot in.
Nothing generates the emotional
collective narrative energies
of the World Cup.
It's the most important thing in life.
But I think there are
lots of other things in life
Julia, there is nothing more interesting
than World Cup football.
Even you-know-what is not
more interesting than the World Cup.
- I think there are some things.
- Excuse me!
England!
This is the moment
that this idea of Englishness
around the football team emerges.
And people start talking about a "golden
generation" of English footballers,
which is like, there's an albatross
to hang around one's neck, eh?
England! England! England! ♪
If England have
any kind of success at a tournament,
I don't think any country
unites like our country.
Mm.
In the training camp,
all the other players had had
their wives or their girlfriends there.
But Victoria was touring the world
at that point with the girls, so
I didn't get any time with them, with her.
I went to Glenn Hoddle and said,
"Before the tournament starts,
is it okay if I go and see her?"
"I haven't seen her for,
I think it was seven or eight weeks."
Uh, I think he said yes.
I think either No.
He phoned me up.
He went, "Oh, Dad, I'm in the paper."
"What for now?"
He went, "Well, I wore a sarong."
I went, "What the bloody hell's a sarong?"
So I rushed out and got the paper.
And I looked at it
and I thought, "Bloody hell."
And then I phoned him back.
I went, "Do you know what?"
I said, "I like that."
I said, "You look smart in it."
And I'm like, "That ain't gonna work.
That ain't gonna work, that."
David Beckham. "Got his Posh
frock on," it says here. It's a skirt.
This was, like, front page
of the absolute shit-fests of newspapers
that existed at the time.
He was feeding them like a frenzy.
Have you been
keeping in touch with your fiancée?
Did Victoria give you confidence
outside of football?
Yeah. Yeah.
And I needed that at that time.
So, uh,
what is the final word on the sarong?
Or are you fed up with that?
You haven't seen nothing yet.
There's more to come?
Maybe.
Just clear my throat.
I'll put the football
a bit higher there as well.
Beckham has to deal with an awful lot.
- How do you think he's coping?
- That's the main half of his problem.
I don't think he's been focused
coming into this tournament.
He's not focused on football.
He came out and said that
my head wasn't in the tournament
and he was worried about it.
He's got to understand that football's
got to come first and remain first.
What's the mood like in the papers today?
We don't get them. Is it good? Bad?
The comment he made about David
was a public annihilation.
Some of the tabloids have had a go.
Glenn just created
an absolute shit storm, publicly,
for David and for the whole country.
Now, you're a teammate
and you're a friend of David Beckham.
He's just in the spotlight all the time.
Do you feel for what
he's going through at the moment?
Um
Yeah, I suppose so. I don't think
it affects David, to be honest.
It killed me. It killed me.
Especially someone that is questioning
He was questioning me as a player.
He was questioning my personality,
my professionalism.
That's when questions were being asked.
"Is he right for the tournament?
Should he be in the squad?"
And then I get dropped to the bench.
Beckham,
the only player to have taken part
in all of England's qualifying games,
said it had been a bitter blow.
We were all surprised.
It was all a shock.
There was talking about,
"Why's he not playing?"
"Why is Becks not playing? He's got to be.
It's madness. He should be playing."
Do you feel there was any
particular reason why you were left out?
Um, I don't think
there's any particular reason.
You know, the manager
just told us the squad for the game,
and then, uh that was it, really.
So, you know, I can't really say much.
So now
you have come to terms with it?
Um, not really, no.
You know, I still wanted to play.
I was desperate to play in it.
In the end, it's up to the manager.
David was down. He was down.
He was low.
David wanted to go home.
He wanted to go home.
I don't think he wanted to be there.
And did you think he was focused?
He was.
David struggled, always, when he was
away from Victoria for long periods.
He did. He did struggle.
He has to admit that.
Even though I'd been treated, I think,
the way Hoddle had treated me,
I still wanted to be there.
This is the biggest setback
of David Beckham's career so far.
How he responds to this current setback
could be crucial for him.
I took a boom box
and a bag of balls out.
I put it on, and I took free kick
after free kick after free kick
Changing my outfit
He said, "Blink" ♪
"We gon' send the hounds in"
I said "Wait" ♪
'Cause here I come
Here I come ♪
Here I come
You boys get ready, 'cause here I come ♪
Gary Neville believes
Beckham has the strength.
This is a test of character,
and David's character is magnificent.
Hello.
There's a tremendous sense
of expectation for this one.
No Beckham, still?
No. No.
Here I come
You boys get ready ♪
England really do have to lift this tempo.
Oh, Adams is struggling. And Moldovan!
And England are behind!
David Beckham is about to come on.
He should be really focused now,
shouldn't he?
They said he wasn't focused.
Beckham's chasing
after this one, and got there first.
Good play by David Beckham.
In a World Cup.
Everything David Beckham
has so far done has been very positive.
Nah. But that's, that's Hoddle for you.
You know we got 'em involved
We too diligent ♪
They say the music is strong
And too militant ♪
Beckham's taken that
beautifully. He wants a good delivery.
Glenn Hoddle said his head
wasn't in the right place, didn't he?
And Beckham chasing on!
That could be a problem.
I just put him on my hit list.
People that upset me.
It's with Beckham. A little chip by him.
Shearer's gonna turn it back
and drive it across.
And England have equalized!
And just look at the delight
of the England fans.
40,000 people can't be wrong.
They're shouting for him to come on.
Meanwhile, the non-selection
of David Beckham continues to fester.
It just saddens me
that I stand here, and three questions
about nothing about tomorrow's game.
It's a bit disappointing.
The Prime Minister wisely
steered clear of the controversy.
There are some decisions I have to take,
there are decisions for Glenn Hoddle.
He's the right man to take them.
Darkness, heartless
you regardless move with hardness ♪
Y'all just pressin' charges
It's often injury ♪
Floss and force my entry
This penitentiary, knockin' up ♪
And here are the men
on whom England's responsibility rests
to qualify for the next round
of the World Cup.
Gary Neville!
It's going to be a tense couple of hours.
Number seven, David Beckham!
And you could see
he wanted the responsibility.
He wanted to be the guy
who the team relied upon.
Step forward, David Beckham.
Beckham strikes.
I say!
Oh! There's one for the picture book.
David Beckham. Brilliant!
Brilliant! Brilliant free kick.
Unstoppable!
If they were to lose, okay,
I've already reserved him
on flights for Sunday and Monday
to come and see me,
and he can spend a fortnight with me.
And if they win, then he can't come out
for another couple of weeks.
That's it!
- We're through!
- Nice one, David!
Well done, babe!
No, it was wicked. It was really good.
We was all sat here, watching.
No, you looked really nice.
Your hair needs doing. Roots need doing.
No, you was really good.
I was really proud of you.
Now, back to England's
World Cup showdown with Argentina.
The teams will be coming onto the pitch
in Saint-Étienne in an hour and a half.
Argentina! Argentina!
Send her victorious ♪
England fans relishing the build-up
to the country's biggest
World Cup game in years.
David, tell us what you think
about Paul's exclusion from the team.
French riot police guarded the ground.
Police marksmen too.
Fans from across the world
are here for a classic fixture.
A game steeped in history.
I was born in London
and lived seven of the first ten years
of my life in Buenos Aires.
One thing I can state
with absolute conviction
is that there is no international rivalry,
remotely, that matches that
between England and Argentina,
where there's this sort of,
you know, almost blood rivalry,
in particular, from the Argentine side.
The English stole
the Falkland Islands from us.
The English are "pirates,"
call them "Piratas."
All this stuff builds up,
all this history, all this bitterness,
and in some cases, hate, and then we come
To Maradona.
I was at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico,
four years after the Falklands War
Different class.
when England played Argentina
in the quarter-final of the World Cup.
Different class!
I saw I was one of 120,000 people there.
Maradona just
walked away from Hoddle then.
That eternally famous
"Hand of God" goal.
Maradona!
When Maradona handled the ball,
all the players saw it.
The only person who didn't
was the referee.
Was it a use of the hand
that England are complaining about?
Back in Argentina,
the victory was fervently celebrated
as vengeance for the Falklands War
four years earlier.
So things couldn't have been hotter.
Will you encourage your players
to follow Maradona's example and cheat,
if necessary, to beat England?
The streets of England
laid completely deserted this evening,
with much of the country in front
of a television, somewhere, somehow.
At the bookmakers,
there's already a £200,000 bet
on England winning tonight.
Will you be watching the match
tonight? Will you be cheering on England?
Well, I think I should.
I was in Brooklyn.
I told David the night before the game.
The game The game.
Before the Argentina game
she phoned me and said, uh,
"I've just taken a test,
and I'm pregnant."
Um
So I I found out then.
Um
He was so, so happy. We both were.
And there was never any doubt
in my mind that I shouldn't tell him.
I mean, it was what we wanted.
And he could not have been happier.
So you tell him right before
the biggest game of his life?
Mm-hm, yeah.
Were you, like, excited? Did you think
it would help him for the game?
I probab
I I don't really know.
Come on!
When you find out you're a dad,
don't you want to be with Victoria
and get out of there?
- It's the first thing I wanted to do.
- But you couldn't?
I couldn't. We were in a major tournament.
I actually had this feeling,
looking at the players that we had
"Yeah, this team
is gonna win the World Cup."
I sensed we had
everything we needed in there.
Come on!
And then
And then. And then.
You don't know how you'll react.
It's uncontrolled.
When someone asks how you'd react
if someone tried to mug you,
and you say, "I'd run after the thief."
But when an actual thief mugs you,
you don't know how you'll react.
Emotions are different
from person to person.
David was a complex player.
And back then, facing a player like him
was somehow motivating.
David Beckham, well, he's
finally arrived on the World Cup stage.
And what an arrival.
He was so good-looking.
And we weren't that good-looking.
That created a rivalry
which is good for motivation.
Well, the referee
has got a big job tonight.
Oh, Beckham kept that in well.
Well played, David Beckham.
And the game comes, man,
and you're just like
Delicate chip.
Look at the space for Beckham.
One or two options open for him now,
including Anderton on the far side.
No, he's hit a bad one there.
All these kind of scenarios
are running through your mind.
"What if this happens?
What if we go a goal down?"
Verón, such a powerful man.
And López almost getting away with it,
but Ince spotted that danger in a flash,
and finds Beckham.
Beckham now to Owen.
And here's another Owen run.
He's gonna worry them again.
It's a great run by Michael Owen!
And he might finish it off!
Oh, it's a wonderful goal!
Yes!
But there's still a long way to go.
Football is all about deceiving.
The place is buzzing here.
England were controlling the match.
Argentina get a free kick
on the edge of the penalty area.
Five in the wall from England,
plus one Argentinian.
It's Verón who's played it for Zanetti!
It's a great goal!
What a superb free kick.
But it's not only about
controlling the ball.
Remember, don't panic.
Just keep calm.
In comes Beckham. Beckham again.
That might fire up England all the more.
It's also about focus and passion,
and also controlling anger.
And here comes the play.
I went to bother him
to see if he would react.
Anderton's pass to Owen
wasn't quite what was required.
And neither was that challenge. Ooh!
And Beckham
Now, whether Beckham accidentally
smacked into Simeone
I think a yellow card
is going to be brandished here,
and it might be to David Beckham.
He's taking another card out for Beckham.
It's a red card for David Beckham!
Oh no.
So, Beckham is out of the game.
It was one second.
He did retaliate.
I wanted to grab hold of Simeone and just,
you know, give him a right-hander.
The way he went down, it's pathetic.
He's meant to be,
you know, a tough, hard man.
He's in midfield against me.
Right in front of the referee, Brian.
It was awful.
People were shouting, and then,
then you can hear
the aggression of the fans.
The impetuous moment
has cost England dear.
And you can see
from Hoddle's hand signals there
Beckham dismissed,
the pendulum swings quite firmly
against England, in Argentina's way.
England have now played
74 minutes with ten men.
In any case, it's over,
except for the penalty shootout,
and that drama is still to come
here in Saint-Étienne.
But penalties They had the chance
to win it on penalties. So
- People forget that.
- People do forget that.
These are breathtaking moments.
No matter how long
you've been in the game,
they are moments of the highest drama.
And he scores.
If he'd have stayed on,
would they have won?
Nobody knows.
And he's saved it.
Ayala's kick.
It's like most things, you know?
You don't know.
If he fails to score, England are out.
Oh, and he hasn't!
No!
Argentina go through, and England go out!
What a cruel way to go out.
Unbelievable, Gary,
unbelievable. I just, uh
We couldn't ask more from the players.
But a mad moment by David
Beckham probably cost you the game.
It's cost us. It's cost us dearly.
And we are absolutely distraught.
When I watched
Glenn Hoddle's interview, I thought,
"No. What have you done?"
He made it that it was David's fault.
And I You know, I
We'd been used to a manager
Alex Ferguson never spoke about his team.
It's a bitter, bitter pill to take again,
and we are absolutely distraught tonight,
but very proud at the same time.
But it is a sending off
that's cost England.
Of course it has. I'm not denying that.
They just blamed him after that.
David Beckham needlessly
and recklessly earning a red card.
It's quite a tragedy, I mean,
Beckham was a hero against Colombia,
and a silly offender
in this particular match.
He'll regret that for a long time.
I don't understand it. I mean, I just
I just don't understand what he was doing.
I went in front of the media.
It was like the death run really, because
the questions were all about David.
And they were all aggressive and pushy.
They want blood.
And I remember, on the bus, thinking,
"This is gonna be bad for you."
I remember thinking that.
"And there's nothing I can do here
to stop what's gonna come."
It was a moment of complete madness.
He's a very silly boy.
We should've
made him play in a sarong.
He wouldn't have been able
to cock his leg that high.
Glenn Hoddle has been vindicated.
He should never wear
an England shirt again.
I think we should call him
"Stupid Spice" in the future, don't you?
The hopes and prayers of a nation
were resting on that one incident.
He let the nation down.
It was an absolute disgrace.
All right.
Here it comes. I see it dripping.
What's the name
of your honey again?
There's a bit of an argument
in the house at the moment.
I think it should be "Golden Bees."
Victoria likes "DB Sticky Stuff."
That could get you
in trouble with HR.
- Oh God. Really?
- Oh my God.
Come on, man.
What other hobbies
do you have like this?
Lego.
Isn't that amazing?
Taste it.
- It's really good.
- Good, right?
Yeah. "DB Sticky Stuff."
"DB Sticky"
See, it's growing on you, right?
- It actually is.
- It's growing on you.
Fuck, it's very sticky, though.
Welcome to the start
of the new season in England.
It was a beautiful day in London.
First game of the season.
Number ten, David Beckham.
In the glare of the sunshine,
in the glare of great publicity,
we're about to get underway.
Jordi Cruyff tried
to chip the goalkeeper.
Cruyff.
And I remember
looking over at the manager.
Because if ever you tried anything
like that and it didn't come off,
the manager would be
on his feet and he'd be killing you.
So
We won the ball just inside our half.
And I looked up, and I thought, "Why not?"
We were behind the goal that day.
It just went deathly quiet.
Like, as the ball
left his foot, the ground
You wouldn't have known
you was in a football stadium.
And I remember
seeing it go right out left,
and then, all of a sudden,
it started coming back in.
And I was thinking,
"This has got a chance."
And Beckham saw Sullivan off his line!
Oh! That is absolutely phenomenal!
From the halfway line!
What an astonishing goal!
Everybody in the ground
just lost in admiration.
And 21-year-old David Beckham
scores what may go down
as one of the great goals of our time,
and it'll be talked about
for a long, long time.
I walked off the pitch,
the manager said,
"David, you get on the bus
and you don't say a word. No interviews."
Can I ask you a couple questions?
First, David Beckham's goal.
Fantastic. Out of this world.
Best goal I've ever seen.
It's unprecedented. In his own half.
Nobody's ever done it before.
Good evening.
There was a goal from the halfway line
scored by Manchester United's
David Beckham.
We didn't have access
to Internet and stuff like this,
so you hear about it through the radio.
And it was like,
"Right, Match of the Day tonight."
"We'll watch that."
You'd heard about him before,
and you'd seen him play games,
but that's the first moment
where I went, "Okay."
"There's a difference with this guy."
And everybody kept saying, "Oh,
what a goal!" "Was it? I didn't see it."
"What?" "Didn't see it."
Some bloody bloke stood up in front of me.
But that was the start of it really,
because nobody had done it before.
Pele had tried it.
Pele.
He saw the goalkeeper off the line!
David! Here, David! Over here!
Did you know that his life
was going to change after that goal?
Oh yeah. It had to. It had to.
They never left him alone after that.
Has he changed at all?
No, he's not changed at all.
He's still a nice lad.
He makes me laugh.
- Do you mind, please?
- Do you pinch yourself?
- Think, "I can't believe it's happening"?
- Yeah.
I just drift away and, you know,
and think how it first happened.
Oh, it's brilliant.
- Morning.
- What's up?
Did you kill these deer?
No, not me.
Nothing to do with me, actually.
My granddad was meticulous.
Everything that was written about me,
every picture that was in the papers.
Oh my God. Some of these pictures
I haven't seen for years.
There's Dad. Did my dad behave himself?
- He certainly had a lot to say.
- Yeah.
I was a gas engineer.
I used to work seven days a week.
I used to have a red Toyota van.
I would have no other color.
My dad was absolutely obsessed
with Manchester United.
Every Christmas,
I would get a Manchester United kit.
His obsession was bigger than mine.
I was a hairdresser,
and then had the children,
so I worked at home to make money.
We didn't have much then.
My mum would have four or five old ladies
sat under the big hairdryers,
and then I would be making
cups of teas and pieces of toast,
and giving them cakes
and things like that.
I never really did well at school.
I wasn't intelligent, believe it or not.
Surprise, surprise.
I never had many friends.
I kept myself to myself.
From the moment I got in from school
to the moment I slept,
I spent my time out in the garden.
He'd never do anything else.
If it was bad weather or something,
he'd be drawing,
and it would all be
something to do with football.
This one is playing
for the county.
Look. Already you had
I know, that style.
I could hit a ball in a certain way,
different to anyone else.
To 30 yards away, on a sixpence.
I used to say to him, "Every time
you hit the crossbar, I'll give you 50p."
And it used to cost me a fortune.
That's all he ever wanted.
He never went out with friends,
never went out at night.
- Partying? Girls?
- He didn't want to know.
I saw my mum and dad
working hard every day,
till 11 o'clock at night,
12 o'clock at night.
I knew the only way
to be a professional footballer
was to work hard.
Did he tell you
I was there the first time
Manchester United found him?
And this man was stood
by the side of me, and he said,
"I'm a Man United scout." I said, "Oh."
The phone rings, and it rung at a time
where we all look at each other like,
"Who's calling this time of night?"
My mum picked it up,
and she, she literally went,
"It's Sir Alex Ferguson.
This is Alex Ferguson."
Okay, camera's rolling.
Here he comes.
Ready? And Hold on.
That's not him. Oh, it is him, moving.
At first, I thought it was a wind-up.
I was I couldn't sleep that night.
So, thank you so much.
We ordered you a coffee.
- So I get two cameras?
- Two cameras, yeah.
- I was hoping for three.
- Aye, yeah.
And I think you could go.
Okay. When did David Beckham
first come to your attention?
It was not long after I came to the club.
1986 has been United's
worst start to the season since the war.
The club are fourth from bottom.
The club say they will now
be approaching Alex Ferguson.
Is that your first autograph for United?
We haven't won the league for 20 years.
It's a great challenge
for Manchester United players.
The one thing about Sir Alex,
you had to have
What we call in England, you have
to have a big pair of to play.
Um
- You can say "balls."
- Yeah. You need a pair of balls.
As Manchester United
face a crucial afternoon
in their quest for the Premier League.
Manchester United hadn't won the league
for 25 years. It was ridiculous.
The manager saving every vital second.
So that was the Holy Grail.
Out to Pallister.
Bruce! Yes!
Unbelievable!
Brian Kidd and Alex Ferguson
are celebrating the championship!
The thing
that hit you straight away
was the ferocious appetite
he had to succeed.
That's the moment
Old Trafford has been waiting for
since 1967.
I won't be taking my foot off the pedal.
It's not my nature.
As long as they're hungry.
Because without hunger, you can't achieve.
What I wanted was a structure
of young people getting a chance.
That was my mantra, to get young players,
develop a football club, not a team.
There's me and the boss.
That's one of the first times I met him.
There's a picture of you there,
signing with Alex Ferguson.
- Mm.
- What was it like signing?
Just brilliant.
Signing the paper and that
I just couldn't believe it was happening.
He came to us as a small,
skinny little boy, you know?
But when you see potential,
it sticks out at you.
It's your job then to bring that
to fruition, to make them a man.
Okay, son?
Alex Ferguson was someone that I looked
up to as, as a father figure.
One of the most important people
in my life
from the age of 12, 13,
when I first met him.
Camera's rolling.
- This was your first ever
- Mm.
Young David Beckham coming on.
Yeah, my first ever game.
A young midfield player.
As Kanchelskis goes off.
Look how young, dude.
I know. 17.
We know that they're gonna run long.
They're gonna run forever.
Cantona charging.
Bülent's getting himself into trouble.
Beckham.
It's a goal!
Two-nil!
The young boys
are doing Alex Ferguson proud.
My first goal was great, but I was
more excited about celebrating with Eric.
Joy on the youngster's face there.
That's one of his favorite memories.
- Yeah?
- Mm-hm.
What was that moment like,
when the ball hit the net?
It was a dream. It was just a dream.
And I'd never had
a feeling like it in my life. Never.
Let's move around.
Steve, can you get the boots?
These here. See that? "Becks."
A really noisy atmosphere at Old Trafford.
Wow.
We talk about anticipation.
To anticipate. Anticipation.
That's why sometimes
people speak about intelligence,
that footballers are not intelligent.
But you need to have
this kind of intelligence.
We play wonderful football.
David Beckham. That's not a bad ball in!
Wonderful.
Eric Cantona.
Two, might be three.
This is Beckham!
That season, when you see David play,
everybody said that he has a gift.
It's gonna be Beckham.
Oh! It's another classic
from young David Beckham.
He's like an artist
in front of his canvas.
He can put the ball anywhere.
drop to Beckham!
Well, every goal he scores
is an absolute beauty.
How about that?
Seriously, that feeling,
if you could bottle that feeling
and sell it, you'd be a billionaire.
There were times that season
we'd think, "Wow. Becks,
the way he's hitting this ball,
I've never seen anything like it."
There isn't a guy
who can do it the way he does it.
This was your entrance every day?
Yeah. Into the Theatre,
as it's known. The Theatre of Dreams.
Flash lad, gel in his hair.
Looking real prim, proper. Pretty
We called him "pretty boy,"
'cause he was. He was pretty.
What a finish.
It was very much the music stars
in Manchester who were the stars.
We were, you know, cock of the walk.
We were kings of the roost.
The Manchester music scene,
in that time, with The Haçienda,
it was all about musicians.
The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Oasis.
When Beckham's star rose,
it turned around completely.
And you'd watch the footballers
become the rock stars.
I loved Manchester.
You know, there was so much happening.
You know, Haçienda, which
I never went to Haçienda, but
Well, I actually might have gone
a couple of times, but, uh
Did you ever go to The Haçienda?
No.
I don't like nightclubs um, really.
Not for me. Never have been.
The music, the noise I think a night out,
for me, is about a social experience
where, the people you're with, you talk,
you have a good night, you have a drink.
The idea of nightclubs,
where you've got music in your ear,
this banging noise,
that isn't for me, that.
- Is that a scarf?
- Not a scarf. It's a hoodie.
- Is it?
- Give me a break.
Gary Neville.
Beckham.
We were absolutely destroying teams
down that right-hand side.
He was with his crossing.
And I was supporting him
in a way which, to be fair, was
I'd say I was a side dish, really.
It's another
for the collection for David Beckham.
Not the beef.
I was the mustard on the side.
- Gary was Mr. Sensible.
- Did he talk a lot then?
Oh, Gaz? Gaz always talked.
He could always talk,
and we very rarely listened to him.
But there was just
that special connection between us.
Do you think he's a good player?
Yeah. I think he's gonna be
the best midfielder in England.
I'm sure of that.
He's unique in that he can do things
that other footballers can't do.
- Gary Neville.
- I was subservient
Beckham.
because I need David
to go and do something magical.
Glorious ball.
He was practicing free kicks.
I was practicing throw-ins.
Beckham.
It's a difficult ball,
but how about that for execution?
We were like that on the pitch.
It was telepathic.
Off the pitch as well,
I knew where he was in his mind.
It wasn't enough for him.
He wanted to be
more than a football player.
That season
In a short while,
I'll be issuing a statement.
that was the start, for me,
of working with the brands.
We've invested significant resources
in developing a modern range of products
which is specially formulated for men.
That was the first time
I stepped outside of football.
David! Over here!
Not many footballers
were doing that, at that point.
Sit up straight.
But you got paid.
Yeah, I got paid.
Yeah.
I'm trying to get wide
on it. Hang on.
It's blooming nice, yeah. Yeah, it's
This is the first time
that I've ever been in a Porsche.
- You spent your money.
- I spent my money.
- You liked your stuff.
- I like nice stuff.
Oh, what's he like! Yeah.
As soon as we got money, it was like,
"I want to buy a nice watch."
I love shopping,
I love cars, I love watches.
- Your watch. What is it?
- This is a Rolex.
- This is interesting.
- Yeah, that's Gucci.
You have to look good
for the paparazzi, haven't you?
David! Over here!
I'd signed a contract with Adidas
for £50,000.
And I went and bought an M3 for £50,000.
What is the obsession
with the cars, man?
Bentleys, Porsche, yeah.
He was the first to kind of
Upped everyone's game
in the car park, I'll give him that.
David used to get his salary on a Friday
and spend it on a Saturday, all,
spend the next five days
waiting for his next salary
to get the jeans to match.
That was him.
Have money, spend it.
Me and Gary were like, "Let's save it
for a rainy day. Have a pension."
We put money in a pension
and David's like, "What are you doing?"
He was like, "I bought a fancy pen,"
and we're like, "Who the fuck buys a pen?"
You know what I mean?
Who buys an expensive pen?
Shirts and clothes, I get all that,
and cars. But who buys a pen?
How many letters do you get?
I don't know. I pick up a big
Royal Mail sack sometimes once a week.
So, do you remember
when David got his first fan mail?
Uh, I can't honestly remem
He, uh It just got built up and built up,
all these young ladies
writing to him, you know?
What did they send?
Do people send you knickers
through the post, all that kind of thing?
Yeah.
Mm. It's not nice, is it,
sending underwear to a boy?
I'd put them to one side and
didn't reply.
- Did it get to his head?
- No.
When you start young,
a lot of people
want to invite you to this party,
and you become
the most beautiful guy for a lot of girls.
You've got people around you ready to
give you advice, to spend money on that.
And then you have to you know,
stay calm, keep the feet on the ground,
and know that this is a circus.
"And I don't need this kind of circus."
"I need to concentrate on football."
Can you believe it's happening
to you? Are your feet still on the ground?
Oh, yeah, definitely.
Actually, it was nice, one of my friends
turned round to me the other day and said,
"You've got all this,
but it's not changed you."
It definitely didn't change me.
Well, he changed,
there's no doubt about that.
And I think
that media attention he was getting,
and becoming a celebrity,
it was different from what I wanted.
Getting David to keep his feet
on the ground became more difficult.
Okay, David.
Straight down the center. Big smile.
He was a good-looking boy
and he was always well-cut,
so it was a great attraction
for the media.
Does pop image
for young footballers concern you?
Well, I mean, I think
Yeah, I think it probably does.
I think that's a phase at the moment,
that he's getting a lot of profile.
Over this way.
And you hope that dies out quickly.
Just from the head upwards.
Keep your shoulders that way.
He's taken an agent on now, so
I don't know how they handle that part.
But he knows where I am,
and that's important.
I know my team,
and hopefully, we can do the business.
All right. Bye-bye.
He wanted me to go
with a certain agent that he knew,
and I wanted to go to another agent.
And he went
He went absolutely mental at me.
Like, mental.
To the point where
he wanted nothing to do with me.
He wouldn't even talk to me.
I didn't want anything
to come in the way of the football.
But I knew my career
was going to end at some point,
and I wanted
to have a career after football.
And that ate away at the manager.
He just wanted me to be
the best footballer that I could be
and be, you know, married
to a local girl that wasn't a superstar.
We were watching TV.
It came on.
And I turned round to Gary, I went,
"See that one there?
I'm gonna marry that one."
And we're laughing and joking.
I'm like, "No, I'm gonna marry that one."
"The Posh one.
The one in the black dress."
I suppose that most blokes
have done that in their life.
Looked at a television, said,
"I like her." You don't end up with them.
We went to a game, and we were
invited onto the pitch at halftime.
Thank you very much.
But all of my family
are Liverpool supporters.
David, playing for Manchester United,
I just knew that
he was one of those players
for that team
I didn't really like very much.
In the changing room, before
the game, one of the players came in
and they said, "Two Spice Girls are here,"
and I was like, "What ones?"
And they was like,
"The Sporty one and the Posh one,"
and I was like, "Great."
Victoria, can you announce this one?
Okay. This is three-zero-six-nine.
Three thousand and 69.
If that's your ticket
So, I then played the game.
Neville.
It's a useful cross.
Beckham! Absolute beauty!
He could not have struck it better.
Gary Neville can take plenty of credit.
I am not into football at all.
I wasn't into football then,
I am not into football now.
Olive, want to come and be in it?
It will make me look like a nice person.
I'll pat you every now and then
You'll need more than one dog.
I should bring the other two in as well.
But I'd seen pictures of him in magazines,
and he's obviously
a really good-looking boy.
Was a boy. How old was he? Boy? Young man?
The fact I went to the games
really was just to kind of
Some would say "stalk" him.
I would say "see" him.
When I saw him in the footballers' lounge,
other footballers were at the bar,
but he was standing,
talking to his parents.
And I'm very close to my family,
and I loved that side to him.
That first time that I speak to her,
I just fancied her.
I just fancied him,
and it was as simple as that.
Yeah, I mean, I think, also, we both
come from families that work really hard.
Both of our parents work really hard.
We're very working, working class.
Be honest.
- I I am being honest.
- Be honest.
I am being honest.
What car did your dad
drive you to school in?
- So, my dad did
- No. One answer.
- My dad
- What car was it?
It's not a simple answer.
What car did you get your dad
to drive you to school in?
- It depends.
- No. No, no, no, no.
Okay. In the '80s,
my dad had a Rolls-Royce.
Thank you.
I must have flown to the game,
because I wrote my number
on the airplane ticket.
And I remember saying,
"You better call me."
There was something there
that just straight away
I was just, like, "Okay, this is it."
"And it's gonna move fast."
But I wasn't one of these girls
that would be interested in footballers
because they're famous.
I don't mean this in an arrogant way,
but I had that myself.
Hi.
The list of boy bands
around these days is endless.
Hello.
Spice Girls are set to give the lads
a run for their money.
And we were on a mission
to prove that girls are better than boys.
Go on, say "Girl Power."
Come on, you can do that.
Say "Girl Power." Just do one.
And I suppose what we created
was a bit of a monster in the five of us.
We would jump on the tables.
Well, I didn't jump on the tables.
I was always a bit more sensible.
We just present ourselves as we are.
I never found it as easy
as the other girls to be that outgoing.
I was always quite shy.
I was never the popular kid
at school, you know?
I was actually bullied, um, quite a lot.
And I probably would still be that way
if I hadn't have met the girls.
She is the foxy lady of the group.
- I'm not.
- She's a foxy lady.
And what the Spice Girls did
is they brought me out of me.
There's only one.
I'm Scary, really.
And that just kind of became our thing,
that we celebrated our individuality.
We called ourselves Spice Girls because
If you look at us,
we dress quite differently, don't we?
And we're all really different.
We're like all different-flavor spices.
We're just being ourselves.
We don't need a uniform to be in a gang.
If a man wants
to wear a dress, that's fine.
Just be who you want to be.
Doesn't matter who you are, what you are.
You put a lot of emphasis
on protecting young players
from the outside world.
David Beckham struck
the only goal of the match.
But what do you do with David?
Well uh, D David is
The The availability of the protection's
always there for him.
He knows where I am.
Sir Alex would buy players
not just because they were talented,
he had a look at their background.
"Have you got a girlfriend?"
"Yes, gaffer."
"How long you been with her?"
"Two years, gaffer." "Are you engaged?"
"Getting married in 1990, gaffer."
He liked the fact that
you were going home to someone,
because he wanted you to be stable.
Not having parties every night.
Sir Alex Ferguson
had socialist principles.
"You might be an individual,
but in here, we're all equal."
"You're putting the team first."
What Sir Alex built
was a team of Mini-Mes.
The boss would not let us wear anything
other than a black boot.
And I remember
bringing a pair of white Adidas into
And he was like, "Absolutely not."
We all knew the rules.
It's his way. You had to conform.
Go against him, you were finished.
My manager kept saying,
"Try and keep it under wraps."
"Don't get photographed together."
So we would
We would meet in car parks,
and that's not as seedy as it sounds.
The first kiss that I ever had with
Victoria was in the BMW, in a car park.
Classy.
The truth is, he was on the phone
to Victoria every second,
and he would stay on the phone
until one o'clock in the morning.
He was in the bathroom
with the light on all night,
speaking to her.
I'm like, "What the fuck
are you speaking to her about?"
What would you say?
We just I don't know. I think
Have you never done that,
though, early on in a relationship?
No.
"Come on, mate. Seriously?
We play Liverpool on Sunday."
Good morning from Anfield
for the most important league game
of the Premier League season,
the two juggernauts of English football.
For United, the win
would put them well on their way
to their fourth title in five seasons.
Victoria would be away
and we'd be staying at his house.
And three o'clock in the morning,
the phone would ring.
He had a game, so I'd answer the phone
and say, "He's in bed, asleep."
And they'd want to talk.
But me, being a protective mum,
would have thought,
"You shouldn't ring
this time in the morning."
But how can you tell? They're adults.
Morning kickoff.
Some criticism of that,
that such an important game
has to have an 11:15 kickoff.
It's meant, of course, that the players
have had to get up at the crack of dawn.
And just looking at the players' faces,
you can see the nerves
and tension of the occasion.
We were worried that
he'd lose all what he'd worked for.
'Cause football come first
and, all of a sudden, it wasn't.
This is Gary Neville.
He's played so solidly again this season.
I knew the lengths he was going
to see Victoria, it was a lot.
It was like an addict.
It was like he had to He would drive
four hours to spend 20 minutes with her.
Kvarme gets it away.
Not very far. Here's Beckham!
Liverpool were grateful
that he wasn't so deadly on that occasion.
He couldn't kid us.
I'd say, "Where were you
last night, mate?"
"Oh, I just went for a drive."
What do you mean, "Went for a drive"?
Beckham again. And this time
the ball is
You knew David was
pissing the manager off.
I think he was probably
going down to London at times
when he possibly shouldn't have been.
And the manager wouldn't have that.
Long ball in. And Barnes has scored!
If you lose discipline,
you don't play at 100%.
You play at 80% or 90%,
and then you go down very quickly.
You know? Very fast.
In a few months
you've disappeared completely.
And then you wake up in the morning
and you say, "Oh, shit."
Exactly what the Liverpool fans ordered.
I didn't care when I saw her,
how much I saw her.
If it was me driving down to London
to see her for seven minutes, I did it.
And he won't be very happy
with the way
this story is unfolding so far.
But
This is Gary Neville.
I don't know how he did it.
Cantona. Beckham. Nicely done.
Cantona again.
Lovely move by Manchester United.
That was on the far post
David had the ability
to have madness in his life, potentially
Swung in again
by Beckham. And a tremendous save!
and literally an hour before kickoff,
he'd switch into football mode.
Beckham.
Here comes the Manchester United corner.
And a goal!
And how priceless
will that goal be in the title race?
He'd be on it, and he'd perform.
I don't know how he did it.
Here's Beckham again.
Pallister again on the near post!
And he's done it again!
And Liverpool's defending
from corners is an absolute nightmare.
I don't know how he did it.
I couldn't do it.
Honestly, it would break me.
And Manchester United get the three points
in the biggest league game of the season.
This was the first time we were
really seeing Victoria and David Beckham
together as a couple.
It's unbelievable.
It's manna from heaven for newspapers.
There's so many angles.
It hits pop culture, sport.
And I always remember, in Manchester,
there were the two brothers
that followed him around.
They were fucking everywhere.
He sees you.
VDB. Victoria and David Beckham.
For about three months,
we kept it quiet.
You guys
followed them everywhere.
And then I bought her
a Cartier watch, and she wore it.
And then, all of a sudden,
people were piecing it all together.
So You know, "Posh and Becks."
Over here, David!
Were you aware of the Spice Girls?
I certainly was.
I put them on the cover.
I only put them on the cover 'cause
my daughter was so obsessed with them
that I felt that the world must be.
- Were you a football fan as well?
- Absolutely not.
But when you have two equally
charismatic people, it doubles the volume.
It puts the heat factor way up.
It became fashion-led.
We had to learn fashion brands.
Learn which handbag Victoria was carrying,
which trainers David was wearing,
which glasses he wore,
which car he was driving.
We had to learn.
- It didn't rub off.
- No, it didn't rub off, no.
David didn't have a lot of friends
at school. Neither did I.
And you go from being that kid at school,
who's desperate just for a friend,
to, all of a sudden,
being chased down the street.
You know, it was a novelty.
And here goes David Beckham.
Game, set and match for Manchester United.
Victoria Adams joins in the glee.
I can't put
into words how big they were.
They were the new Charles
and Diana, in some ways.
I don't know whether
I feel comfortable saying that.
But they were like royalty.
This is the day
of Princess Diana's death.
I was not comfortable
with the photographers
being as aggressive as they were.
But I loved being in her world.
It was exciting.
Do you get a kick
when people go, "There's David"
You do get a kick. Don't you?
Yeah, of course. You know, you
You walk down the streets,
and then this kid's like, "Ah"
A little kid, and you're like
Yeah, it's nice. It is really nice.
The 1997
Young Player of the Year,
and thoroughly deserved, David Beckham.
You're attracting attention not only
from the back pages of newspapers,
but the front pages and the middle pages.
I very rarely get nervous.
But I remember getting the phone call
from the England manager.
David, is it extra special
to play for England?
Uh, yeah, I think so.
It'll be a great experience.
I loved United,
but the number-one thing that I'd always
wanted to do, above anything else,
was play for England.
That was a dream.
Can you see him now?
To get picked to play
for your country, how important is that?
Know when someone's telling you something
and you're trying to be calm?
"Yeah, gaffer, that's unbelievable."
But your stomach's going 100 mile an hour.
You just can't wait to get into your room
and ring your wife and tell everybody.
Playing at the national team's stadium,
playing at Wembley
is a very emotional moment for me
because my dad always used to take me
to Wembley to watch England play.
That was really
what my childhood was all about.
To see my son come out
for the first time at Wembley,
I must admit, I had a little tear.
To get a phone call
from the England manager
would have always been great.
But to get it from Glenn Hoddle?
That was a special moment.
As a young kid, I loved Hoddle.
He was kind of flash,
he was good-looking, he had the hair.
You know, he always wore
his shorts really short.
He had good legs, actually.
But he could play a ball
no one else could play.
Everything that he did,
I wanted to be.
I remember Glenn Hoddle
was opening a shop.
And we stood for two, three hours
in his little England kit
with "Hoddle" on the back,
and he never turned up.
Glenn Hoddle never turned up.
David was distraught.
The fact that I've brought him in on
my first squad and given him his debut,
um, and he's stayed in the team,
I think says it all.
But obviously, he still needs
to find his feet at international level.
And he was building the team around Becks.
But I think Glenn Hoddle had demands
on Becks because he knew how good he was,
and I think he saw
a bit of himself in David.
Rome has seen its
fair share of gladiatorial confrontation
down the years.
Will it ever have witnessed
anything like this, though?
England's biggest game of football
for some four years,
for a place in the World Cup Finals.
To say I was nervous
is an understatement.
Well, all football
fanatics know the scenario tonight,
but forgive me for just spelling it out.
Italy have to win,
a draw enough for England.
On this extraordinary night.
A sellout crowd of 75,000
- He loved playing for his country.
- Beckham.
He was so patriotic.
A problem for Ince,
who seems to maybe have a facial cut.
I'd never played in the World Cup.
It's a player's dream to play
in the World Cup. The pressure of it
Beckham. This is great play.
Sheringham. David Beckham!
That could have been,
and maybe should have been, all over.
And we're into time
added on. David Beckham's corner.
And here comes Chiesa
and Italy, with Del Piero.
Oh!
England have qualified
for the 1998 World Cup Finals.
And it's the dance of joy
for the man who masterminded it all.
Glenn Hoddle got us
to the World Cup
They achieved the target.
which, for David,
is another dream.
And raise your glasses back home.
Another dream come true.
But
I was on tour.
Not knowing when I was going to see him,
that was the difficult thing.
But he used to do anything
to just try and spend time with me.
He would sometimes charter a tiny,
tiny plane, like a two-seater plane.
He would come over literally
just for a few hours, and then go back.
This way. Around this way.
Soccer and Spice
Victoria,
can you describe the ring for us?
posing for pictures
after announcing their engagement.
Everything about Victoria, I loved.
I didn't know she was
the strong woman that she was.
And I liked that.
I don't know whether it was
because I wanted her to look after me.
You must've felt safe with her?
Yeah. I did.
They might have found love,
but finding the time to be together
could be the problem.
While Beckham has his sights
on the World Cup,
the Spice Girls
are about to start their world tour.
She's a strong, strong woman.
Can be a pain in the ass, though.
She was a pain this morning.
The England squad arrived today,
setting foot on French soil
in beige suits.
They were "dull and lacking in style."
The suits, that is, say fashion editors.
We had some shit suits, man.
Some really bad suits.
You could have three of me in one suit,
it was that big and baggy.
But Becks still looked good.
I used to say,
"Who's helping him with this shit?"
"Are they fitting his kit differently?"
"Is he going to a tailor
to get his kit fitted?"
"Because the way it looks on him ain't
the way it's looking on me right now."
The World Cup
is the spectacle of all spectacles.
I mean, there is just no comparison.
The viewing figures
for England at the World Cup
exceed anything in this country.
It's estimated
up to a million extra TVs
will be sold to watch the first kickoff.
What else is attracting
25 million people watching it?
I mean The royal wedding?
Asda will be stacking up
an extra 300,000 gallons
of beer and lager.
Relate, the relationship-counseling
organization,
says if your love life
is already on shaky ground,
France '98 could put the final boot in.
Nothing generates the emotional
collective narrative energies
of the World Cup.
It's the most important thing in life.
But I think there are
lots of other things in life
Julia, there is nothing more interesting
than World Cup football.
Even you-know-what is not
more interesting than the World Cup.
- I think there are some things.
- Excuse me!
England!
This is the moment
that this idea of Englishness
around the football team emerges.
And people start talking about a "golden
generation" of English footballers,
which is like, there's an albatross
to hang around one's neck, eh?
England! England! England! ♪
If England have
any kind of success at a tournament,
I don't think any country
unites like our country.
Mm.
In the training camp,
all the other players had had
their wives or their girlfriends there.
But Victoria was touring the world
at that point with the girls, so
I didn't get any time with them, with her.
I went to Glenn Hoddle and said,
"Before the tournament starts,
is it okay if I go and see her?"
"I haven't seen her for,
I think it was seven or eight weeks."
Uh, I think he said yes.
I think either No.
He phoned me up.
He went, "Oh, Dad, I'm in the paper."
"What for now?"
He went, "Well, I wore a sarong."
I went, "What the bloody hell's a sarong?"
So I rushed out and got the paper.
And I looked at it
and I thought, "Bloody hell."
And then I phoned him back.
I went, "Do you know what?"
I said, "I like that."
I said, "You look smart in it."
And I'm like, "That ain't gonna work.
That ain't gonna work, that."
David Beckham. "Got his Posh
frock on," it says here. It's a skirt.
This was, like, front page
of the absolute shit-fests of newspapers
that existed at the time.
He was feeding them like a frenzy.
Have you been
keeping in touch with your fiancée?
Did Victoria give you confidence
outside of football?
Yeah. Yeah.
And I needed that at that time.
So, uh,
what is the final word on the sarong?
Or are you fed up with that?
You haven't seen nothing yet.
There's more to come?
Maybe.
Just clear my throat.
I'll put the football
a bit higher there as well.
Beckham has to deal with an awful lot.
- How do you think he's coping?
- That's the main half of his problem.
I don't think he's been focused
coming into this tournament.
He's not focused on football.
He came out and said that
my head wasn't in the tournament
and he was worried about it.
He's got to understand that football's
got to come first and remain first.
What's the mood like in the papers today?
We don't get them. Is it good? Bad?
The comment he made about David
was a public annihilation.
Some of the tabloids have had a go.
Glenn just created
an absolute shit storm, publicly,
for David and for the whole country.
Now, you're a teammate
and you're a friend of David Beckham.
He's just in the spotlight all the time.
Do you feel for what
he's going through at the moment?
Um
Yeah, I suppose so. I don't think
it affects David, to be honest.
It killed me. It killed me.
Especially someone that is questioning
He was questioning me as a player.
He was questioning my personality,
my professionalism.
That's when questions were being asked.
"Is he right for the tournament?
Should he be in the squad?"
And then I get dropped to the bench.
Beckham,
the only player to have taken part
in all of England's qualifying games,
said it had been a bitter blow.
We were all surprised.
It was all a shock.
There was talking about,
"Why's he not playing?"
"Why is Becks not playing? He's got to be.
It's madness. He should be playing."
Do you feel there was any
particular reason why you were left out?
Um, I don't think
there's any particular reason.
You know, the manager
just told us the squad for the game,
and then, uh that was it, really.
So, you know, I can't really say much.
So now
you have come to terms with it?
Um, not really, no.
You know, I still wanted to play.
I was desperate to play in it.
In the end, it's up to the manager.
David was down. He was down.
He was low.
David wanted to go home.
He wanted to go home.
I don't think he wanted to be there.
And did you think he was focused?
He was.
David struggled, always, when he was
away from Victoria for long periods.
He did. He did struggle.
He has to admit that.
Even though I'd been treated, I think,
the way Hoddle had treated me,
I still wanted to be there.
This is the biggest setback
of David Beckham's career so far.
How he responds to this current setback
could be crucial for him.
I took a boom box
and a bag of balls out.
I put it on, and I took free kick
after free kick after free kick
Changing my outfit
He said, "Blink" ♪
"We gon' send the hounds in"
I said "Wait" ♪
'Cause here I come
Here I come ♪
Here I come
You boys get ready, 'cause here I come ♪
Gary Neville believes
Beckham has the strength.
This is a test of character,
and David's character is magnificent.
Hello.
There's a tremendous sense
of expectation for this one.
No Beckham, still?
No. No.
Here I come
You boys get ready ♪
England really do have to lift this tempo.
Oh, Adams is struggling. And Moldovan!
And England are behind!
David Beckham is about to come on.
He should be really focused now,
shouldn't he?
They said he wasn't focused.
Beckham's chasing
after this one, and got there first.
Good play by David Beckham.
In a World Cup.
Everything David Beckham
has so far done has been very positive.
Nah. But that's, that's Hoddle for you.
You know we got 'em involved
We too diligent ♪
They say the music is strong
And too militant ♪
Beckham's taken that
beautifully. He wants a good delivery.
Glenn Hoddle said his head
wasn't in the right place, didn't he?
And Beckham chasing on!
That could be a problem.
I just put him on my hit list.
People that upset me.
It's with Beckham. A little chip by him.
Shearer's gonna turn it back
and drive it across.
And England have equalized!
And just look at the delight
of the England fans.
40,000 people can't be wrong.
They're shouting for him to come on.
Meanwhile, the non-selection
of David Beckham continues to fester.
It just saddens me
that I stand here, and three questions
about nothing about tomorrow's game.
It's a bit disappointing.
The Prime Minister wisely
steered clear of the controversy.
There are some decisions I have to take,
there are decisions for Glenn Hoddle.
He's the right man to take them.
Darkness, heartless
you regardless move with hardness ♪
Y'all just pressin' charges
It's often injury ♪
Floss and force my entry
This penitentiary, knockin' up ♪
And here are the men
on whom England's responsibility rests
to qualify for the next round
of the World Cup.
Gary Neville!
It's going to be a tense couple of hours.
Number seven, David Beckham!
And you could see
he wanted the responsibility.
He wanted to be the guy
who the team relied upon.
Step forward, David Beckham.
Beckham strikes.
I say!
Oh! There's one for the picture book.
David Beckham. Brilliant!
Brilliant! Brilliant free kick.
Unstoppable!
If they were to lose, okay,
I've already reserved him
on flights for Sunday and Monday
to come and see me,
and he can spend a fortnight with me.
And if they win, then he can't come out
for another couple of weeks.
That's it!
- We're through!
- Nice one, David!
Well done, babe!
No, it was wicked. It was really good.
We was all sat here, watching.
No, you looked really nice.
Your hair needs doing. Roots need doing.
No, you was really good.
I was really proud of you.
Now, back to England's
World Cup showdown with Argentina.
The teams will be coming onto the pitch
in Saint-Étienne in an hour and a half.
Argentina! Argentina!
Send her victorious ♪
England fans relishing the build-up
to the country's biggest
World Cup game in years.
David, tell us what you think
about Paul's exclusion from the team.
French riot police guarded the ground.
Police marksmen too.
Fans from across the world
are here for a classic fixture.
A game steeped in history.
I was born in London
and lived seven of the first ten years
of my life in Buenos Aires.
One thing I can state
with absolute conviction
is that there is no international rivalry,
remotely, that matches that
between England and Argentina,
where there's this sort of,
you know, almost blood rivalry,
in particular, from the Argentine side.
The English stole
the Falkland Islands from us.
The English are "pirates,"
call them "Piratas."
All this stuff builds up,
all this history, all this bitterness,
and in some cases, hate, and then we come
To Maradona.
I was at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico,
four years after the Falklands War
Different class.
when England played Argentina
in the quarter-final of the World Cup.
Different class!
I saw I was one of 120,000 people there.
Maradona just
walked away from Hoddle then.
That eternally famous
"Hand of God" goal.
Maradona!
When Maradona handled the ball,
all the players saw it.
The only person who didn't
was the referee.
Was it a use of the hand
that England are complaining about?
Back in Argentina,
the victory was fervently celebrated
as vengeance for the Falklands War
four years earlier.
So things couldn't have been hotter.
Will you encourage your players
to follow Maradona's example and cheat,
if necessary, to beat England?
The streets of England
laid completely deserted this evening,
with much of the country in front
of a television, somewhere, somehow.
At the bookmakers,
there's already a £200,000 bet
on England winning tonight.
Will you be watching the match
tonight? Will you be cheering on England?
Well, I think I should.
I was in Brooklyn.
I told David the night before the game.
The game The game.
Before the Argentina game
she phoned me and said, uh,
"I've just taken a test,
and I'm pregnant."
Um
So I I found out then.
Um
He was so, so happy. We both were.
And there was never any doubt
in my mind that I shouldn't tell him.
I mean, it was what we wanted.
And he could not have been happier.
So you tell him right before
the biggest game of his life?
Mm-hm, yeah.
Were you, like, excited? Did you think
it would help him for the game?
I probab
I I don't really know.
Come on!
When you find out you're a dad,
don't you want to be with Victoria
and get out of there?
- It's the first thing I wanted to do.
- But you couldn't?
I couldn't. We were in a major tournament.
I actually had this feeling,
looking at the players that we had
"Yeah, this team
is gonna win the World Cup."
I sensed we had
everything we needed in there.
Come on!
And then
And then. And then.
You don't know how you'll react.
It's uncontrolled.
When someone asks how you'd react
if someone tried to mug you,
and you say, "I'd run after the thief."
But when an actual thief mugs you,
you don't know how you'll react.
Emotions are different
from person to person.
David was a complex player.
And back then, facing a player like him
was somehow motivating.
David Beckham, well, he's
finally arrived on the World Cup stage.
And what an arrival.
He was so good-looking.
And we weren't that good-looking.
That created a rivalry
which is good for motivation.
Well, the referee
has got a big job tonight.
Oh, Beckham kept that in well.
Well played, David Beckham.
And the game comes, man,
and you're just like
Delicate chip.
Look at the space for Beckham.
One or two options open for him now,
including Anderton on the far side.
No, he's hit a bad one there.
All these kind of scenarios
are running through your mind.
"What if this happens?
What if we go a goal down?"
Verón, such a powerful man.
And López almost getting away with it,
but Ince spotted that danger in a flash,
and finds Beckham.
Beckham now to Owen.
And here's another Owen run.
He's gonna worry them again.
It's a great run by Michael Owen!
And he might finish it off!
Oh, it's a wonderful goal!
Yes!
But there's still a long way to go.
Football is all about deceiving.
The place is buzzing here.
England were controlling the match.
Argentina get a free kick
on the edge of the penalty area.
Five in the wall from England,
plus one Argentinian.
It's Verón who's played it for Zanetti!
It's a great goal!
What a superb free kick.
But it's not only about
controlling the ball.
Remember, don't panic.
Just keep calm.
In comes Beckham. Beckham again.
That might fire up England all the more.
It's also about focus and passion,
and also controlling anger.
And here comes the play.
I went to bother him
to see if he would react.
Anderton's pass to Owen
wasn't quite what was required.
And neither was that challenge. Ooh!
And Beckham
Now, whether Beckham accidentally
smacked into Simeone
I think a yellow card
is going to be brandished here,
and it might be to David Beckham.
He's taking another card out for Beckham.
It's a red card for David Beckham!
Oh no.
So, Beckham is out of the game.
It was one second.
He did retaliate.
I wanted to grab hold of Simeone and just,
you know, give him a right-hander.
The way he went down, it's pathetic.
He's meant to be,
you know, a tough, hard man.
He's in midfield against me.
Right in front of the referee, Brian.
It was awful.
People were shouting, and then,
then you can hear
the aggression of the fans.
The impetuous moment
has cost England dear.
And you can see
from Hoddle's hand signals there
Beckham dismissed,
the pendulum swings quite firmly
against England, in Argentina's way.
England have now played
74 minutes with ten men.
In any case, it's over,
except for the penalty shootout,
and that drama is still to come
here in Saint-Étienne.
But penalties They had the chance
to win it on penalties. So
- People forget that.
- People do forget that.
These are breathtaking moments.
No matter how long
you've been in the game,
they are moments of the highest drama.
And he scores.
If he'd have stayed on,
would they have won?
Nobody knows.
And he's saved it.
Ayala's kick.
It's like most things, you know?
You don't know.
If he fails to score, England are out.
Oh, and he hasn't!
No!
Argentina go through, and England go out!
What a cruel way to go out.
Unbelievable, Gary,
unbelievable. I just, uh
We couldn't ask more from the players.
But a mad moment by David
Beckham probably cost you the game.
It's cost us. It's cost us dearly.
And we are absolutely distraught.
When I watched
Glenn Hoddle's interview, I thought,
"No. What have you done?"
He made it that it was David's fault.
And I You know, I
We'd been used to a manager
Alex Ferguson never spoke about his team.
It's a bitter, bitter pill to take again,
and we are absolutely distraught tonight,
but very proud at the same time.
But it is a sending off
that's cost England.
Of course it has. I'm not denying that.
They just blamed him after that.
David Beckham needlessly
and recklessly earning a red card.
It's quite a tragedy, I mean,
Beckham was a hero against Colombia,
and a silly offender
in this particular match.
He'll regret that for a long time.
I don't understand it. I mean, I just
I just don't understand what he was doing.
I went in front of the media.
It was like the death run really, because
the questions were all about David.
And they were all aggressive and pushy.
They want blood.
And I remember, on the bus, thinking,
"This is gonna be bad for you."
I remember thinking that.
"And there's nothing I can do here
to stop what's gonna come."
It was a moment of complete madness.
He's a very silly boy.
We should've
made him play in a sarong.
He wouldn't have been able
to cock his leg that high.
Glenn Hoddle has been vindicated.
He should never wear
an England shirt again.
I think we should call him
"Stupid Spice" in the future, don't you?
The hopes and prayers of a nation
were resting on that one incident.
He let the nation down.
It was an absolute disgrace.